Saturday, July 28, 2007

Considering the pain I felt at her death, it seems odd that I only met Rebecca Lee once. There are some people who are so sweet and sincere that they find that secret path deep into your heart as soon as you get to know them. Becky was one such person. The first time she was surrounded by people of God, the holy Ghost fell on her, even though she had never been taught about the way of the Spirit. She just belonged to God, and as soon as she learned of the baptism of the holy Ghost and met people who had it, she received it. I was not there that night, when Becky was born again. I had to wait until her next visit to NC, in May of this year, to get to meet her. When I did, I well understood how it was that the saints here had fallen so deeply in love with her the first time she came. She had planned to make another trip to be with us at the beach this summer, but God decided otherwise, and she died yesterday, the end of her life-long struggle with Cystic Fibrosis. Everyone around here felt as if we had lost a life-long friend, or even more accurately, a very dear family member. As I said, considering the pain I felt at her death, it seems odd that I only met Becky once. It isn’t often in life that we are blessed to meet a person like Becky. Now, all we can do is (1) live according to the will of God so that we will be permitted to see and love Becky again, and (2) take advantage of the opportunity we have now to love the ones who are still here with us.===========

From Brother Damien this morning:

Pastor John As it was, yesterday afternoon, I checked my email barely a minute after you sent the email saying that Becky had died about ten minutes previous. I had prayed that day that whatever happened would be quick, that God would do something. I told Kay, and then we waited. Afterwards, I sat on the front porch listening to the storm to the east. No rain, just lots of thunder. I really felt God in the sound - He chooses everything: here not there, this way not that way, this one and not that one. I have not had many people around me die thus far in my life, and I believe I know where all of them are now. Becky is the first person I know that I am certain is now with the Lord. What love God has shown us these past four months through her! Thinking of her being with the Lord did something to me as I talked with Kay about it. For the first time, I felt just a part of what you feel when you talk about having “more over there than here.” It produced a greater desire for that reward; somehow it became more real, and there was a greater desire to be ready when the time comes. It felt so good to realize that it was all over for Becky. Now she is with the Lord, already experiencing freedom from all of this life on Earth. Reading her website (www.takeadeepbreath.tv) gave me more insight into her suffering and how she endured in her life. If we are right with the Lord, all we have to do is die, and then we are with him. That is all that matters.

Nobody had to guess whether I was seeking to please God when I first came to Jesus. Nobody had to guess whether I hated the way I had lived. Nobody had to wonder if I was ashamed of my sins. Nobody had to wonder if I was determined to live right or if I was humble. Nobody had to wonder, whether they were old friends or new acquaintances. Nobody had to wonder what I stood for. Do you know why no one had to wonder? Because I really was finished with sin and was on the Lord’s side, with all my heart. I was sick of myself and sick of sin. And if anyone around me still loved sin, I was sick of them, too. I didn’t want anyone in my life who wanted anything other than the righteousness of God.

When it is real, no one has to wonder. When you really are committed to Christ, every person around you knows it, whether sinner or saint.

King David’s attitude reflected mine. He said, “Depart from me, you deceitful and bloody men.” It did not bother me in the least, and I am sure it did not bother David, if sinful people didn’t like me any more because I didn’t want them around me. I know how David felt about that. He wanted nothing in his life that was tainted with sin, nothing that was less than acceptable with God. Why should I want someone in my life if that person doesn’t love my God? Paul warned the saints, “Do not be deceived; bad companions corrupt good habits” (1Cor. 15:33). That being the case, why should I want to be corrupted?

Get real with God and man. Choose your path and let no man lead you astray. Make up your mind what you want your life to be like, and go for it. But be prepared. Unrighteous people around you will consider you to be a fanatic, or a fool, for not wanting them and their foolishness in your life any longer. They will “think it strange”, said Peter, “that you run not with them” any more. But care nothing for it. Set all your affection on the approval of Christ, and then, no matter what ungodly humans say or think of you, you will have peace.

About Me

I am a slave of Jesus who, in obedience to him, has come out of the fragmented religious system of Christianity. I love God's people and want all of us who love the Lord Jesus to be together. This can never happen inside Christianity because that religion is the very thing that divides us. If God is ever going to answer the prayer Jesus prayed in John 17 and make all His children one, it will be accomplished only by the power of the holy Spirit, and it will happen apart from the hundreds of conflicting doctrines and traditions that make up the Christian religion. We come out of all that confusion to offer ourselves to God for healing -- healing from our own ideas and ways. Let's all just admit that we know nothing, and are nothing, and that we need help from Jesus, and let him make us one!